Our 'HIC' ... {Han in Carbonite}

[lharles]

So, I've started the Han in Carbonite project. I wound up getting a resin kit from someone for a price I could afford, (I'd been saving up for one of Stormrider's kits but couldn't seem to quite get enough saved up before having to drop some cash on some necessity).

Since I'm a member here now & thinking of the how-to aspect of making these things as I go along, (as well as taking pictures), I'm trying to detail my steps so that - on the off chance someone doesn't get all of the info they need from other folks threads - people can follow what I did.

I'll detail the pictures in order:

01: Picture of the head part of the kit, before any work was done.
02: Picture of one of the two doors I got for free, (they get thrown away once they've cut new doors to size using the originals as templates), from a local door manufacturing company...
03: Picture of the panel(s) from one of the doors after I'd torn it apart & cut off the damaged parts...
04: Another picture of the panels from the former hollow-core door...
05: The Han kit laid out on one of the panels...
06: Some work I had to do on the underside of the left hand of the kit, to make the spacing/mounting work...
07: Method I used to lift the torso/legs portions of the kit to get them connected/glued, (I tried super glue - fail, {I learned that CA glue is different than super glue...}, I tried epoxy glue - fail, eventually used a combination of hot glue & CA glue to get the head/torso/legs put together acceptably)...
08: The bottom part of the wooden frame I built...
09: Again, the bottom part of the wooden frame - with supports...
10: Hollow-core door panels, secured in the top part of the frame...
11: Han kit on the frame, (hot glued over the top of all screws/staples & around the entire edge of where the hollow-core door panels met the wooden frame)...
12: Epoxy putty all around the edge of the kit, after having assembled the entire head/torso/legs & stapling down the edges of the kit...
13: The feet - hot glued to the panel & epoxy putty around the edges...
14: A thin layer of Elmer's Glue All over the entire exposed surface of the hollow-core door panels, to seal...
15: A top down view after the seal coat of Elmer's...
16: Beginning the BIG pour of Elmer's Glue All to create the base for the carbonite pools...
17: The project as it sits currently...waiting for the base o' carbonite to dry...

I should note that I'm currently only building the top/front of the prop. I'm building it so that I can add the lower part of the box with the Volvo panels/lighting/etc later...

To do(s):
1: Another pour of Glue All & puddles/pools...
2: Sand/round the edges of the frame...
3: Countersink the wire nails on the top of the frame, (the two layers of the frame & the door panels are screwed together & countersunk from the bottom)...
4: Paint frame & Han kit 'seams' with high build/filler primer...
5: Prime the Han kit...
6: Determine how to mount, (I'm planning on hanging the panel on the wall, leaving a 1/4" - 1/2" gap around the edges, painting the gap black, & putting some futuristic trim around it, a picture frame o' sorts...)...

<Sorry some of the pics are so fuzzy...I wind up takin' most of these pictures quickly, in the middle of the building process, & as a result they often wind up looking like I'm taking them in the middle of a seizure...>

 

[lharles]

A little more work done, (as the glue I poured this last weekend is finally, almost dry).

Sculpted the perimeter of the carbonite area with epoxy putty using this image as a reference:

"Hic carbonite high res image by darthchromer on Photobucket"

Tomorrow I start the detail pour(s) with puddles/pools/etc...

A couple shots of the perimeter as it is now...

 

[lharles]

Help! Help!

I've gotten to the point of putting down my first coat of primer & I've stopped due to the look of the epoxy putty I put around the edges in contrast to the glue pool(s) around the body cast. It looks like the perimeter - where the putty is - is too deep compared to the rest...

I'm not sure if I should go with another thick glue layer or if it looks reasonable as is...I'm conflicted.

I'm attaching several close ups of shots around the torso, left hand, & the area to the left of Han's head.

Thanks in advance for any input/advice...

 

[lharles]

No one is willing to chime in a little to help, eh...?

{At this point I'm trying to slowly puddle/drip glue along the edges of the putty'd areas to have them pool a little more evenly into the big glue pour I started with. I suspect - after that dries - I'll have to do another significant pour or pours to get the puddles/pools effect that I got the first time round'... }

 

[lharles]

{Forgot to mention I used a roundover bit with my router - first time I've used that since I built the now decommissioned M.A.M.E. behemoth - on the edges of the frame & countersunk/filled the nail locations on the top of the frame, prior to my begging for assistance on the depth issues yesterday...}

I wound up pouring another gallon thick layer of 'Glue-All' this morning. I'm hoping that I'll be able to do one more major pour after that & then get back to the detail work that I spent several days on last week...only to realize that the depth on the perimeter was way off.

I had been hopeful that one of the veterans o' the HIC building process would chime in with their insight & set me on the right path...but alas, it wasn't so.

This build reminds me that - although I've managed to pull several D-I-Y prop builds out of my asterisk - I'm still a novice in many ways at the build out of these projects...

 

[darthwhitey]

I didn't do the glue pour thing on mine, but I know a few guys on here have. I would do a search and maybe post in those threads your questions. Or maybe shoot those particular guys a PM with your specific questions.

Good luck with your HIC build...and welcome to the club!

 

[lharles]

Thanks for the response, darthwhitey, sincerely.

Truthfully, I was reluctant to pester folks in their build thread(s) for some reason...but now that I think of it, that would have been the simple & logical thing to do. Sometimes, I feel like I have the intellectual capacity of a stump.

I'll see what I come up with to ask folks after my current attempt at resolution plays out. I poured another layer, as I stated earlier today...& wound up fashioning - er - dams out of shredded paper & paper towels to minimize the build up around the perimeter of the head & legs of Han's body. Hard to explain why & I didn't take pictures, but I'll try to find a way to document/explain what I did soon. Trust me, it isn't pretty but should be useful until the glue starts to harden up...I hope.

Thanks again for responding. I definitely needed to hear, (read), someone chime in, even if only to remind me that I could ask questions elsewhere here on the forum...

I didn't do the glue pour thing on mine, but I know a few guys on here have. I would do a search and maybe post in those threads your questions. Or maybe shoot those particular guys a PM with your specific questions.

Good luck with your HIC build...and welcome to the club!

 

[mattevans]

Say, where did you get the kit from, if it's no secret?

 

[lharles]

No secret.

It was basically a one off that I got it from an RPF member who had the kit for some time & simply hadn't used it. If I'm being completely honest, I don't know the origins of the kit - specifically, who made it.

It is resin & was cut into three panels for shipping, (it was only the head/body + feet), along with the feet. The back was filled with expanding foam, (overfilled a bit so I had to cut it the foam down before mounting it).

I had planned to purchase one from Stormrider & might still wind up having to do so if I muck up this one I'm working on much further.

Hope that helps a little bit...

Say, where did you get the kit from, if it's no secret?

 

[darthwhitey]

No worries. Glad to help.

I think you'll find guys on here really helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to ask questions in their threads or via PM.

If people are geeky enough (like me!) to have a life-size HIC in their house then their geeky enough to talk to you about it! :lol

Good luck!

 

[lharles]

If this current process doesn't work out for me, (the paper dam), I'm gonna' have a LOT of questions...& will definitely be takin' your advice.

As for the geeky thing, I'm definitely in that group.

{...and thanks again for the helpful input. Much appreciated.}

No worries. Glad to help.

I think you'll find guys on here really helpful. I wouldn't hesitate to ask questions in their threads or via PM.

If people are geeky enough (like me!) to have a life-size HIC in their house then their geeky enough to talk to you about it! :lol

Good luck!

 

[lharles]

...and the current state of the behemoth.

The paper towels/shredded paper did the trick. I've got a pile of pictures of the progress from the last update & this shot...but they're really sort of mundane & don't really add much to the process.

I've put about a dozen coats of paint/primer/glazing putty/etc on the outer frame of the thing & I'm almost to the point of painting the body/center of the thing...

 

[lharles]

...& all painted up in the center with metallic aluminum. Hoping to get some detail(s) regarding how folks did their black acrylic wash toward the end, before I proceed on that point... {...all of the dark/black areas in the pic are due to shadows - no actual weathering has been done yet...}

 

[chuckyAPP]

That was fast, looks great

 

[lharles]

I usually build up speed as I go along in building these things. Towards the end, when I'm really sick of the whole thing, is when I tend to get the most done in the shortest period of time.

Speaking of the end...I'm done!!!

Pictures attached...

{I'll post a couple final pics once I get the thing properly hung on the wall...}

That was fast, looks great

 

[jun]

Looks really good!

 

[artbypaul]

Amazing job!

 

[lharles]

Thank you for saying so. I'm glad to be done with it.

Looks really good!

 

[lharles]

See above.

Amazing job!

 

[lharles]

...was going through my old threads & realized I'd never put up a completed pic.

So, here's a pic - at completion...& one with my son picking Han's nose, for scale. {Both from May 2012.}



{...& I'm guessing this will probably belong in the Star Wars forum now...?}